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| See The Northern Lights in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Canada |
The Northern Lights* are one of nature’s great displays: a mysterious, multicoloured show in which the night sky is suddenly lit up with a wondrous glow that twists and swirls. Elusive and ethereal, it is one of the great, timeless thrills of travel, that many viewers find a humbling and spiritually uplifting experience.
It occurs most commonly in the Arctic region, and in recent years the chance of enjoying the spectacle has become a prime reason to fly north for a winter break, and the good news is that the range of holidays available for viewing the northern lights has never been better.
To see the celestial disco in its full glory, you will have to head north towards the Arctic, above latitude 60 degrees at the least.
The snowy wilds of Canada and Alaska are fine viewing spots, but for most of us it is more affordable, and convenient, to fly to Iceland or northern Scandinavia, commonly known as Lapland. Here it is possible to see the lights from late September to early April, with October to November and February to March considered optimum periods.
The hours of darkness increase the farther north you travel, and while the aurora can be sighted at any moment, 9pm to 2am tends to be prime viewing time. It’s surprising how often the lights reveal themselves just as dinner is served, and many hotels offer an aurora alarm service if you don’t want to stay up waiting.
Where you go will depend on your budget and the time available, but a more crucial decision is what else you want to do when you’re not standing outside in sub-zero temperatures staring up at the night sky with fingers crossed.
It’s important not to become obsessed with the single goal of beholding the aurora, but to see this as just one of many thrills of a winter holiday to the Arctic. Sparkling white landscapes, fairy-tale ice hotels, romantic husky-sled rides, the hi-tech-meets-frontier lifestyle of the indigenous peoples, cool city breaks – these are reasons enough to go.
With luck you will also see the heavens ablaze with a silky, swirling light, but this can never be guaranteed.
Sweden and Swedish Lapland
The specialist soft adventure travel company, Off the Map Travel (0800 566 8901; offthemaptravel.co.uk) organises tailor made trips to the best destinations in the world to experience the Lights. These include Bjorkliden, northern Sweden, which is situated in a weather shadow of the surrounding mountain range delivering perfect conditions for aurora spotting. A three-night trip in the February 2014 half-term to Northern Sweden starts from £999pp based on two sharing, on a half board basis, including exclusive Aurora activities, but excluding flights.
Original Travel (020 3582 4990; originaltravel.co.uk) offers five nights in Swedish Lapland from £1,800 per person based on two people sharing, including two nights at the Ice Hotel, an overnight dog sledding trip under the Northern Lights, two nights at the Treehotel, all transfers and return flights with SAS.
Discover the World (01737 214250; discover-the-world.co.uk) has an extensive northern lights programme to six countries between December and March and offers direct flights between Heathrow and Kiruna, the gateway to Swedish Lapland. The flying time is three-and-a-half hours and avoids the connections in Stockholm, Oslo or Helsinki of some aurora-chasing holidays. A three-night break using these flights costs from £1,211 per person, including transfers, breakfast and a night in a “snow room” at the Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi.
Iceland
Hotel ION (00 354 482 3415; ioniceland.is) is a one-hour drive from Reykjavik, close to Thingvellir National Park. Its relatively remote location, in an open explanse of land far from city lights, means it is a good spot for Northern Light sightings. In fact, it has a "Northern Lights Bar" with floor-to-ceiling windows and works with two astronomers, who are close to hand should guests want a tutorial. Doubles from 33,500 ISK (£173) per night.
Regent Holidays (020 7666 1290; regent-holidays.co.uk) can offer a four night South Iceland Winter Break, based in Reykjavik, departing next week from £995 per person, based on two sharing at the four star Radisson 1919 Hotel on bed and breakfast basis and including flights, transfers and a range of excursions including an evening northern lights excursion, a Golden Circle coach tour and a visit to the Blue Lagoon. The company also offers an escorted Northern Lights Explorer Group Tour to Iceland that aims to maximise the chances of success by staging six aurora-hunting expeditions, with a fresh location every night. As the aurora is such a fascinating phenomenon, it helps to travel with an expert who can offer some, well, illumination. Prices from £1,349 per person including return flights and B&B accommodation.
Norway
This winter, Hurtigruten (020 8846 2642; hurtigruten.co.uk), which operates a fleet of passenger ships that constantly sails up and down the Norwegian coast, has extended its "Northern Lights promise" to anyone booking a Classic Round Voyage (a round-trip along the Norwegian coastline from Bergen up to Kirkenes) before December 31 2014. The extension means that if the lights are not visible from your ship, your will be offered a free cruise. The 12 day cruise costs from £999 per person in an inside cabin on full board basis (based on two sharing), departing on a wide choice of dates. Flight and transfer packages start from £330 per person.
A good spot for chances of seeing the Northern Lights is the area around Tromso, in Norway, a city Telegraph Travel's John O'Ceallaigh recommends for its "unblemished surrounding regions". Off the Map Travel (0800 566 8901; offthemaptravel.co.uk) has three-night Tromso trips from £875pp based on two sharing on a self-catering basis, including a snowmobile safari and Northern Lights Dinner Cruise, excluding flights.
Remote locations away from cities and light pollution offer better chances of spotting the lights. Head to Sollia on the Russian-Norwegian border and stay at the Sollia Gjestegård which has one of the best restaurants in northern Norway. You can also visit the owners’ aurora borealis basecamp. Inntravel (01653 617000; inntravel.co.uk) has its Sollia Northern Lights Break from £948pp based on two sharing including return flights London-Kirkenes, transfers, three nights' half board, and an evening in the aurora borealis base camp.
There are also holidays that cater for photographers (lightsoverlapland.com), while music lovers should head to Norway for the annual Northern Lights Festival in Tromsø (from January 23-31;nordlysfestivalen.no), or catch some polar jazz in far-flung Svalbard (from February 5-8; polarjazz.no).
Finland
In Finnish Lapland, combine accommodation at the Torassieppi Reindeer Farm with dog-sledding and cross-country skiing with night treks on snowshoes, by minibus and snowmobile to seek the Northern Lights. Travellers are also provided with an aurora alarm, to maximise sighting chances. The Aurora Zone (01670 785 012;theaurorazone.com) has departures for its Torassieppi Northern Lights Quest on February 14 from £1,995pp, including flights from London, transfers, seven nights’ full-board accommodation, all activities, cold-weather clothing and guides.
Adventure Worldwide (01962 737630; adventureworldwide.co.uk) has a three-night "Northern Lights Special" tour based high above the Arctic Circle, which not only offers guests scheduled aurora hunting tours, but also spare time to walk out into the frozen lake and look up for extra sighting chances. The trip costs from £1,345pp based on two sharing, including flights, three nights' full board, all transportation, activities and a tour leader/guide.
Canada
The lights are not just a northern European event: cross the Atlantic for potential spectacular sightings too. Churchill, in the Candian province of Manitoba, is one of the best places in North America to witness an aurora borealis display. Go seeking them on a Tundra Buggy at night, combining such excursions with snowshoe treks and dog-sledding by day.
Wexas Travel (0207 838 5892; wexas.com) is offering an eight-day Northern Lights & Winter Nights package to Canada from £3,450pp on an all-inclusive basis. Price includes return economy flights to Winnipeg, flights between Winnipeg and Churchill, transfers (excluding arrival and departure transfers in Winnipeg), three nights in Winnipeg, four nights in Churchill, four Tundra buggy night trips to hunt the aurora and other activities as mentioned in the itinerary.
Other specialists include Transun (01865 265200; transun.co.uk),Specialised Tours (01342 712785; specialisedtours.com) and Taber Holidays (01274 875199; taberhols.co.uk).
*The lights are formed from fast-moving, electrically charged particles that emanate from the sun. These are driven towards the poles by the Earth’s magnetic field – their varying colours are a result of the different gases in the upper atmosphere. In the northern hemisphere they are known as the aurora borealis and hang above the planet in an oval-shaped halo.
Taken from an original article in The Telegraph
